LANCASTER, Pa. – Trailing for just the second time all year, with the first being just a 1-0 deficit during the season opener at Lebanon Valley, the No. 8 Franklin & Marshall men's lacrosse team scored 11 of the final 14 goals to post an 11-6 win over Kenyon on Wednesday afternoon. The Diplomats went down 3-0 in the opening five-plus minutes, but more than answered that challenge over the final 55 minutes of game action.

Kai Kelly registered his second hat trick of the season with a three-goal outing. A.J. Rigsby was the team's top point producer with two goals and two assists, giving him four straight multi-goal outings. Will Mollihan added two more goals, while Sage Garito stopped 13 of the 19 shots on goal that he faced.

In a battle of undefeated teams, it was Kenyon that landed the early punches as the Lords scored just 33 seconds into the game and were up 3-0 just 5:33 into the contest. The Diplomats turned to Rigsby to bring the team back into the contest as he scored just 1:02 after Kenyon's early run and added his second tally of the afternoon just 63 seconds after that.

Franklin & Marshall outscored Kenyon by identical 3-1 scores during the second, third, and fourth quarters to eventually pull away during the second half. James Moroney tied the game at three-all exactly five minutes into the second quarter before Kelly took advantage of the man-up opportunity. The Lords tied the score at four-all with just 57 seconds remaining before the half, but Kelly's second of the afternoon came just 26 seconds later to give his side a 5-4 lead heading to the locker rooms.

After two goals during the opening quarter, Rigsby tallied a pair of assists during the third quarter, setting in motion man-up strikes from Blake Target and Mollihan as the Diplomats were 3-for-4 on their extra man chances. Eddy Madden also scored an unassisted goal in the third period to get onto the score sheet.

Colin Falk got onto the scoresheet during the fourth quarter as F&M continued to stretch its lead, while Mollihan and Kelly finished off their multi-goal outings. Franklin & Marshall finished with a 46-42 advantage in shots, with Kenyon's goalie turning away 14 shots on goal.

Eleven different players scooped up multiple ground balls for the Diplomats, led by eight from Connor Helm as he went 12-for-21 at the face-off X. The Diplomats' defense caused 11 of the Lords' 19 turnovers on Wednesday as Kyle Craig forced a trio of giveaways. Drew Pascal also stepped up on the defensive end with two CTs.

With the team's four-game homestand coming to an end on Wednesday, the Diplomats will now prepare for their trip to Florida this Sunday. Playing in the Sunshine State over spring break, F&M will battle Rhodes in a neutral site contest that is slated for an 11 a.m. face-off. When the team returns north later that week, they will face nationally-ranked tests against York (Pa.) and Stevenson at the Mustang Classic.